The present invention concerns a combat vehicle (armored troop carrier) with both a diesel-electric drive mechanism and a hatch for the riflemen in the rear.
Armored troop carriers usually have a rear hatchway to allow the troops to get in and out rapidly in a protected area. The drive mechanism is accordingly usually forward to keep the rear free for the troops and the hatchway.
Forward drive mechanisms for combat vehicles have, however, turned out to be detrimental for many reasons, and it is now considered desirable to install-such mechanisms in the rear of new models, both armored troop carriers and military tanks. Since on the other hand a hatchway at the rear remains just as unavoidably necessary for significant tactical reasons as ever, conventional drive mechanisms can no longer be considered in that the lack of space at the rear to accommodate them along with the hatchway will be immediately evident.
The Israeli armaments industry has attempted to resolve this conflict with a special type of transmission for the rear drive mechanisms employed in new models. This transmission when installed leaves room for a narrow passage between it and the wall of the vehicle. Rising about 50 cm above the bottom of this passage is a transmission tunnel that leads to the right-side drive wheel. The 60 cm of space above the tunnel is of course much too shallow to allow the troops to get in and out rapidly. To deepen the space, the Israelis have had recourse to raising the roof above the passage at the rear of the vehicle. The result is a triangular "gable" that the troops can leave the troop carrier through.
This design has several drawbacks. There is little room in spite of the elevated roof. The vehicle presents an extensive silhouette at the critical moment the troops are getting out of it and particularly at the point that is specifically at hazard. The troops have to jump over the transmission tunnel when getting in and out.